Siddaramaiah is most arrogant CM ever: Prasad

Mysuru: Former revenue minister V Srinivas Prasad launched a scathing attack on the chief minister at Swabhimana Samavesha in Nanjangud on Tuesday. Prasad, who was dropped in June's cabinet reshuffle, compared Siddaramaiah with the 14th century Delhi sultan, Mohammad-Bin-Tughluq, and said he's the most arrogant leader the state has ever seen. Addressing his supporters, Prasad said, "I have worked with former PMs Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and was very close to almost all state chief ministers, but have never come across such an arrogant CM like Siddaramaiah in my 45 years of political career. He is a disaster for the state." He also crticized PWD minister HC Mahadevappa and Dalit leaders G Parameshwar and Mallikarjun Kharge. Prasad was among the senior ministers, including Vinay Kumar Sorake and SK Patil, dropped during the cabinet reshuffle early this year, which saw new faces — Priyank Kharge, Pramod Madhwaraj, MR Seetharam — entering the cabinet. "How these youngsters can replace senior and experienced leaders like us. How can Siddaramaiah claim to have an effective cabinet with the induction of leaders like Santhosh Lad. For three years, Kagodu Thimmappa and Ramesh Kumar attacked the government for the way it functioned, which gave the CM sleepless nights. They were made ministers to shut them up." The former minister also attacked Dalit leaders including home minister G Parameshwar and Mallikarjna Kharge, the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha. "Parameshwar is unfit to be called a leader. He doesn't know what is an organization and hasn't participated in any agitation. I'm aware how he got a Congress ticket to contest from Madhugiri, he bribed the leaders in Delhi. When Parameshwar lost, he told Sonia Gandhi that Siddaramaiah was responsible for his defeat. "Mallikarjun Kharge, who has won assembly polls nine times in a row, is like a Thanjavur doll. He has been a minister in all the Congress governments, still he is a dissatisfied person. Now, he has got his son Priyank a ministerial berth," Prasad said. On Dinesh Gundu Rao taking over as the working president of KPCC, Prasad said, "When president Parameshwar doesn't have any work, what will Gundu Rao do?" He said that urban development minister Roshan Baig has neither knowledge nor ability. Comparing PWD minister HC Mahadevappa to epic Mahabharata's Uttara Kumara, Prasad said the CM has given the power of attorney to Mahadevappa. Mahadevappa and Mahadeva Prasad are his think tanks.